Sadler Out Until November. LAJ’s Don Williams writes that IR Ian Sadler is out until early November and the coaches are not going to pull any redshirts just yet and the coaches haven’t made any decisions regarding WR Dylan Cantrell, but they are getting to the point of no return (i.e. to redshirt him for the year). In other news, S Jalen Barnes should be back working out with the team and S Derrick Dixon is still working out some family issues.
Austin Impresses. LAJ’s Don Williams writes that IR Zach Austin played well at the right time and said that doing your job:
“Some of these routes we run, they’re not really even supposed to go to me,” Austin said Monday. “But it’s about trusting that the other person is doing their job, whether it’s running off this (defender) or blocking this guy so this guy can be open. It’s a big trust thing. That was my goal going into it.”
Williams takes you through how Austin got to Lubbock and how he worked his way from preferred walk-on to a scholarship player.
Rest In Peace, Bill Kelley. LAJ’s Don Williams fondly remembers Bill Kelley, the last three-sport letter winner at Texas Tech, passed away at the age of 89. Spike Dykes spoke at Kelley’s funeral and there are a ton of quotes there talking about Kelley. Kelley is in Texas Tech’s Hall of Fame, is originally from Idalou, and founded a athletic supply company, in addition to be a terrific athlete for Texas Tech:
Kelley came to Tech on a basketball scholarship from Idalou High School, which had no football program at the time. He earned four letters in football (1945-48), two in basketball (1945-46) and two in track (1946-47), according to Tech records.
In football, Kelley made all-Border Conference at end his senior year and helped Tech win conference titles each of his last two seasons. In track, he finished second in the 440-yard dash at the Border Conference meet his junior year and ran on a mile relay team that set a Border Conference record.
After the Quarterback. Waterloo Courier’s Jim Sullivan writes that Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads knows he has to pressure QB Patrick Mahomes:
When discussing Mahomes, head coach Paul Rhoads said, “For him to have only been sacked one time and not having a lot of people around him where he’s having to swat them away like flies tells you about the kind of player he is and what kind of offense there is there.
“We’ve got to let him know we’re there, though. Whether it’s a three-man (rush) or five-man or six-man, we’ve got to let him know we’re there and at least cause his feet to shuffle a little bit and maybe have him hold on to the ball a little bit longer.”
Options at Right Guard. LAJ’s Don Williams writes that Robert Castaneda, Emeka Okafor and Tony Morales are all vying for playing time at the right tackle spot and offensive line coach Lee Hays said that he’s still hot about the situation:
“Every single one of them, which makes you sick, is it wasn’t a deal where you had to jump out and be extra fast on,” Hays said. “It was literally four times we were uncovered.”
Uncovered means the offensive lineman had no defender across from him.
“Poor coaching on my part,” Hays said. “I’ve got to do a better job making sure we’re ready to go. … I’m still fired up about it.
There are additional notes in there, most of that stuff was covered the day of the press conference, including Devin Lauderdale’s status, which there is no real update because Kingsbury doesn’t give updates on injury status and some of the quotes I highlighted from the presser regarding the play of Nigel Bethel II and Thierry Nguema.
Gibbs’ Honesty. LAJ’s Don Williams also writes about how defensive coordinator David Gibbs is incredibly honest in his assessment of the defense. As Williams correctly notes, it is about identifying the areas to fix while never doubting their effort:
“These kids are amazing,” Gibbs said. “They’ve been through a lot throughout their careers, and they continue to come to work every day and try to get better. I wish I could help them. I’m trying my dangdest, and we’ll just keep grinding and keep working.”
And he’ll keep pointing out their weaknesses, while defending their effort, every step of the way.
Texas Tech vs.Kansas Kickoff at 11:00 am.
#Big12FB: Kickoff times and TV information for week seven/October 17 games. pic.twitter.com/N623n6jB9p
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 5, 2015
Denley Solid. RedRaiderSports’ Drew Kohnle checked in with Cibolo Steele RB/IR Bryson Denley about his commitment to Texas Tech:
“It’s going great. I love the team, the coaching staff; it is a great team with great players. Things are just going really great. I’ve watched all their games this year and it is exciting to see that offense and the role I will be playing. I’ll get to do what I do and make plays and help the team get a win,” he said.
Anderson Talks Texas Tech. Texas Tech’s newest commit, Jack Anderson
#ESPNJr300 No. 28 & Under Armour @AllAmericaGame G/C @JackAnderson_53 on his #GunsUp commitment pic.twitter.com/qUPIPiM3Nl
— Gerry Hamilton (@GHamiltonOTF) October 6, 2015
Also, via KAMC’s Brian Holland talked to Anderson’s head coach about Anderson:
“Then this year his goal is to pancake a guy every snap, said Gibson. “And he works hard, he’s just wired the right way.”
The Situation in Austin. [Ed. note: I initially forgot the link here.] Land Grant Gauntlet’s Chris Ross has all of the links and tweets from the situation on Tuesday. It seems to me that the situation is that they are allowing too many players to have media availability. This is why you generally just let seniors or juniors do the talking because they know what not to say.
Miscellaneous. SAEN’s Tim Griffin has his weekly Big 12 rankings . . . DMN has their Big 12 power rankings . . . DMN’s Michael DuPont has five things to know about Iowa State . . . Land Grant Gauntlet also has their weekly quarterback rankings . . .